Customer Reviews

The Cats' House

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Great book, just make sure you get the FULL sized version, I believe it is ISBN: 0836221834. The pictures are too good to be wasted on the teensy weensy edition offered by Amazon. Oooooops!! It never crossed my mind to look at the dimensions. [(in inches): 0.39 x 3.81 x 3.25]

Don't buy this expecting detailed woodworking plans or construction blueprints because you'll be disappointed if what you're after is a how-to guide. What the author has given us instead, however, is a magical book full of inspiration and cats and color and ideas and cats and textures and cats that will help you decide how you want to design your own special feline walk-ways, steps, balconies, boxes, alcoves, entrance and exitways for your cats in your house or apartment.

The author and his wife are avid collectors not only of cats, but of Mexican folkart as well. Their house abounds with colorful textiles, furniture, masks, frames, pottery and numerous carvings. They have incorporated their love for these things into the type of catwalkers and connecting pieces they designed for their house: everything is done in vivid shades of red, purple, yellow, blue and green and the cat pieces compliment them beautifully. My husband and I don't collect Mexican folk treasures but after reading this book and studying the pictures, I realized how easy it would be to incorporate our own color schemes, style and art objects into making a unique set of catwalkers for our own cats.

The author does provide enough instructions and measurements so that someone who is reasonably well-acquainted with woodworking could install the basics (or you could always show the book and your designs to your contractor). The author also has suggestions on cat-proofing your house and your collectables (such as using "Quake Hold" to attach breakable objects to tables)

Also included in the book are pictures of a cat habitat designed by the author for the National Cat Protection Society in Newport Beach.

I received this book as a Mother's Day gift from my daughter on the other side of the country, and I haven't stopped smiling since I popped open the package -- It also effectively stopped work productivity for the next several hours as fellow cat-lovers and not-so-enamoured co-workers marveled at the charm, whimsicality, and rich, vibrant colors. If you yearn not to be an 'all-white walls' person AND have been properly trained by your cat(s) to think constantly of their amusement and mental & physical needs, you can only be inspired to let your own imagination get to work. I will enjoy this book for a very long time and love that something so special and delightful was correctly seen as JUST what I'd adore.

This review is intended only for the 3.5" x 3.5" version of this book. The full-size book is wonderful, and deserves all five stars. I just attempted to buy two copies to give as gifts. Alas, I ended up with the miniature versions, which have most of the content, but at less than a fifth of the size, are hardly worth their present cost of half the price. Check the product details closely, and make sure you're getting what you think you're getting--the product description doesn't make it very obvious. If you're paying less than $$$ for this book, you're likely buying a wallet-sized version.

What a fun book this is! It's colorful, it has unique photos of cats doing cat things, and it will make you think about remodeling your house for your own feline bundle of joy. I was given this book as a gift a few years ago (before I was able to have a cat due to apartment restrictions) and I enjoyed it even then. But after a recent move to a new house, I discovered the book again -- I enjoy it even more now that I have my own cat. Thanks to The Cats' House, my husband and I have been discussing how we can add our own piece of cat paradise to our home!

One of the best parts of this book is that it encourages readers to adopt homeless cats from shelters and rescues. Shelter cats make the best pets.

The cat-loving author has designed a fablulous home that caters to the whims and whimsy of his nine felines. Looking at the ramps, walkways, look-out stations and overhead catwalks, a reader can't help but think about how much his/her own housecat would enjoy this fun-loving environment. Every catlover I've shown this book to has been captivated by the wonderful imagination that brought this cat-house to life. The photos are dynamic, and the cats are very lucky, indeed. You won't be disappointed by this fantastic book.

If you're really into cats, bright colors, and Mexican folk art, this is a five-star book for you! But even if you're just really into cats and Walker's decorating style ain't your thing, this is nonetheless a worthwhile purchase. After introducing the feline family, Walker describes how he and his wife built an impressive overhead cat transport system into their home (it started by accident -- all they wanted was a room divider and a built-in scratching post). Even if you can't imagine reproducing a neon-lit zigzag for cats on the ceiling of your hallway, it's easy enough to adapt Walker's ideas to fit any decorating style. The book includes some construction diagrams and a lot of helpful hints from the wisdom of experience (e.g., Walker found that putting "cat-walks" flush against the wall didn't allow the felines enough space to turn around). The vibrant photography shows the amazing possibilities of what can be done with lumber, a tape measure, imagination, and lots of cats!

Bob Walker's "The Cats' House" is not the type of book that gives you detailed plans and instructions on how to build catwalks, stairs and doorways for your cat. This would be impossible because each house is so different. What it gives you instead is a beautifully illustrated vision of what it would be like to live in a house with nine cats walking, napping and playing overhead. What you ultimately do with this vision is up to you, your carpentry skills and budget. The stunningly gorgeous photographs, architecture and interior design in this book give you the fuel you need to stoke your own creative fire. After reading Walker's book and poring over the photographs, I challenge any cat lover not to have the same reaction I did, namely, that of looking around my home trying to figure out how I too could transform my living space in order to make it more fun for my cats. Now, I think I'll go look at some books about woodworking!

This is not a content book. But it's not a dry interior design manual, either. It's the lovely story of one man's family of cats and the home he and his wife built for them. The book itself is gorgeous, with wonderful pictures and just-enough text. If you're not a catlover, forget it, but if you are...this is the book for you. I share it with my most intimate cat-loving friends.

The authors maintain a companion website to this book -- it has many of the same pictures, plus other items of interest related to the intriguing obsessions of this family. they are even compiling a gallery of images of other people's catwalks, which should be most interesting. i hope a lot of people are taking this book to heart and building what they can for their cats (i did)!